Michelle Paterson discusses the governor, Staten Island

Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-HammelMichelle Paige Paterson today took a swipe at media coverage of her husband, Gov. David Paterson, whose standing in the polls has dipped to 19 percent, saying public perception of him is being shaped by reporters.

COMING SUNDAY: Michelle Paterson looks back at her childhood on Staten Island:

New York's first lady Michelle Paige Paterson just might have a new title: First defender.

Mrs. Paterson today took a swipe at media coverage of her husband, Gov. David Paterson, whose standing in the polls has dipped to 19 percent, saying public perception of him is being shaped by reporters.

She also said no governor could do better, given the current economic climate.

And she hit out at "Saturday Night Live" for portraying him as a bumbler and mocking his blindness.

"It is so not true," she said of him being shown "as this feeble person ... When you know him, he maneuvers so well you forget he has the problem."

During an interview with the Advance in state offices in Midtown Manhattan, Mrs. Paterson said that in addition to "the lack of privacy," the worst thing about being first lady is that "the media can shape perception" about the job the governor is doing.

She pointed to a story earlier this week about a hush-hush report in 2005 that portrayed the office of her husband, who was then the Senate minority leader, as dysfunctional. Paterson himself had requested the report and asked Malcolm Smith, now the Senate majority leader, to oversee it.

Paterson and Smith have frequently been at odds, most recently over the MTA fare hike.

Said Mrs. Paterson: "David won four seats when he was in the minority. That put them on track for taking the majority. That's the story."

In respect of her husband's standing in the polls, "a lot of it has to do with the economy," she said.

"Whoever is the governor would have a hard time," said the first lady. "David is a person who is really fighting hard for this state. He is not caving in to special interests."

As for the TV skits, Mrs. Paterson said they reaffirm "that we have so much to teach people. It's a disservice to people who are disabled."

It's not the first time Mrs. Paterson, a health care executive, has sought to defend her husband. In January, she sent a mass e-mail to friends urging them to write letters to downstate newspaper editors "about the horrid treatment of David" in the press. Trouble was, she sent it out on her work e-mail.

Mrs. Paterson, who spent part of her childhood on Staten Island, said she'd like to campaign here with her husband. The governor has said he intends to run for election next year.

And the best things about being first lady? The ability to push her health and wellness agenda, she said, and "living in the mansion and not having to cook, clean, shop."